Spotify Exec Hints U.S. Launch Is A Couple Weeks Away

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, June 16, 2011

Spotify general manager Jonathan Forster told an ad conference in London that the company is wrapping up the final licensing deals for a U.S. launch "as I speak."

He also told Silicon Valley Watcher's Tom Forenski "We won't launch before July 5th." That leaves infinite wiggle room -- Christmas is after July 5, as is 2013 -- but the fact that he picked a date at all points to a launch later in July.

Forster said that Spotify had agreed to a faster monetization strategy than it would have liked to get the deals done. That probably means allowing fewer hours of free music here than the 15 hours it offers in Europe.